Tours of the City
Walking Tours
Private guides can be hired through the major hotels. There are always individuals in the Red Square/Kremlin area, who will offer to act as a guide for a fee – visitors should negotiate this before setting off. As a general rule of thumb, prices are around Rb400/US$13 for three hours and Rb738/US$24 for six hours. Moscow City Excursion Bureau (tel: (095) 921 1508 or 924 9446) organises various walking and bus excursions taking in the Red Square, China Town, Novodevichiy Monastery, Vagankovskiy Necropolis and Novy Arbat.
Bus Tours
Astravel, Novoslobodskaya ulitsa, dom 31, Stronyeniye 2 (tel: (095) 926 8700; e-mail: income@astravel.ru), offers four-hour city sightseeing tours, taking in St Basil’s Cathedral, the Vorobyovy Hills and Moscow State University. The cost of the tour varies, depending on how many people take part, starting at Rb2122/US$69 for an individual tour to Rb246/US$8 per person for a tour of 40 people. Bus tours can also be readily arranged through hotels and incoming tour operators. Intourist (tel: (095) 923 5089) has a representative in most of the major hotels and at Sheremetyevo airport. It is also possible to hire a car and driver who will give a customised tour of the city.
Boat Tours
One of the more pleasant ways to see the city is to take a boat trip on the Moskva River. Cruises leave half hourly from a number of landing points in the city centre and last for 90 minutes. Good starting points are Kievskaya, near the Metro station, the Radisson Slavjanskya Hotel and the Borodinsky Bridge (the city’s oldest, built in 1912). Cruises can generally be booked through hotels or by contacting Freestyle 21 (tel: (095) 209 0824), who organise a range of tours. The cost of a boat tour is generally Rb154/US$5.
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Tours of the City